So I want to play a war game again.....

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Gregorovitch55
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So I want to play a war game again.....

Post by Gregorovitch55 »

I'm here mainly 'cos of Distant Worlds but I've been nosing around the site and of course it's like a war game candy store here, so the itch to get back into some terrestrial carnage is sort of growing. But where to start?

I'm not too bad at war games, but no expert. I played a lot of Eastern Front back in the day and a few other Talonsoft titles like Waterloo and Gettysburg. Got pretty much into Steel Panthers and to a slightly lesser extent Combat Mission. Had a period about 10 years ago when I was really into Operational Art of War. More recently I got seriously into Hearts of Iron II & III which I'm reasonably good at.

I would say I am much more knowledgeable about WW2 equipment, tactics and history than other periods as must be obvious from the list above, so half of me thinks I should go for that era and the other half of me thinks I should explore something else (I tend to like reading up on the history around the games I enjoy).

So I'd be really interested in opinions on what games I should consider.

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Jason Petho
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RE: So I want to play a war game again.....

Post by Jason Petho »

John Tiller's Campaign Series.

Covers World War 2 at a tactical level fairly well. Includes a game for each of the main fronts, East, Wesf and Pacific.

Turn based.

Units are platoons.

250 metre hexes

Hundreds and hundreds of scenarios are included, with the necessary editors to create your own to your hearts content.

Continually updated with new features and new content in an effort to keep it "current" and there is a large and active PBEM community at The Blitz Wargamers club for PBEM.
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wings7
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RE: So I want to play a war game again.....

Post by wings7 »

Greg, I agree with Jason on the Campaign Series, also check the other game forums here. Sounds like you have alot of war gaming experience! [8D]

Patrick
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aaatoysandmore
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RE: So I want to play a war game again.....

Post by aaatoysandmore »

I can never recommend Norbsoft's Civilwar series enough. If you like "mild" rts (things are really in real time in that game) I think you will really enjoy Norbs Gettysburg: Scourge of War and other titles in that series. My other favorite is Panzer Command: Osfront. An east front tactical game of minatures and a wego/turn based system better than Combat Mission (because the AI is better for one thing). You can't go wrong with those two.

Edit: oh almost forgot Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge. Excellent real time nato chits operational game. Designed with "command control" in mind but no so much micromanagement in mind if you don't want to.
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Hertston
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RE: So I want to play a war game again.....

Post by Hertston »

War in the Pacific AE and Command Ops are the best games here, IMHO. Outside WW2, Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm or Scourge of War.
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Mad Russian
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RE: So I want to play a war game again.....

Post by Mad Russian »

For something a bit different check out Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm. I know I may be a bit bias, but, it's one of the most interesting systems to come out in a long time.

Good Hunting.

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Neilster
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RE: So I want to play a war game again.....

Post by Neilster »

TOAW 3 has an AI that's a huge improvement on the previous versions and comes with heaps of scenarios (with more available online). The next patch promises excellent things too.

Command Ops is excellent and excels in command and control and its AI.

World in Flames has massive potential but is still a work in progress and is likely to be for some time. It has bugs (which are being fairly rapidly eliminated, is basically only solitaire or hot seat at the moment (that should change soonish) and doesn't have an AI (although much work has been done on that already).

Basically, it's based on a brilliant and endlessly tested boardgame system, so when it's complete it'll be a fantastic strategic WW2 game. As a player you control politics, production, strategy and operational decisions. It's already fun to play solitaire or hot-seat (including online with assistance from Skype and screen-sharing software). The tutorials are excellent and the game is very complex so I'm happy to learn the system and tinker with solitaire while the above-mentioned things are ironed out.

Cheers, Neilster
Cheers, Neilster
aaatoysandmore
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RE: So I want to play a war game again.....

Post by aaatoysandmore »

If you're looking for a turn based HOI look no futher than Making History I & II. Neilster reminded me of this great game when he started talking about World in Flames. It's not exactly a simulation of WWII but a whatif during that period and time. That's why it's called Making History. Because any faction could become the bad guy and Russia and Germany and Japan could hook up to take on the rest of the world. It's very well done and the ai is pretty good. Kicked my butt out of Italy with no problem. If you're looking for a game that has working amphipious invasions this is it.
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MrsWargamer
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RE: So I want to play a war game again.....

Post by MrsWargamer »

I'm voting for Panzer Corps or Battle Academy based on your post and past gaming.

Of course if you are rolling in dough, and don't mind buying wargames that are never meant to actually be finished more than 3 times yes sure buy War in the East :) I also recommend World in Flames :)

But I'm guessing you prefer playing head to head against other humans. And you will get a better human vs human experience with my suggestions.
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cpdeyoung
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RE: So I want to play a war game again.....

Post by cpdeyoung »

Please take a look at "Advanced Tactics Gold", and "Decisive Campaigns", both from Victor Reijkersz, and both sold by Matrix.

There are multiple scenarios written by players available for Advanced Tactics Gold, both multiplayer and solo. It is a clever engine, and good fun to play. I am currently playing four multi-player games, and one solo test of a new mod. Each is different, and I am having a good time. I have long been a fan of John Tiller's Campaign Series too, but ATG satisfies my strategic-operational itch.
Rosseau
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RE: So I want to play a war game again.....

Post by Rosseau »

Can't argue with any of these recommendations. But based on your experience, Battle Academy might be too simple. TOAW3 a bit long in the tooth, and Tiller's stuff great, with similar detail to Steel Panthers.

If it was me, I'd pick up a couple of games on the weekly sale first. Command: Modern Air Naval Operations is/will be amazing, but won't be on sale for a while. Great being a kid in a candy store again!
Gregorovitch55
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RE: So I want to play a war game again.....

Post by Gregorovitch55 »

Thanks for the pointers everyone. Trouble is, after looking into these (some have a good video or two on Youtube), I want all of them! So I'm trying to pretend I do have all of them and asking myself "What shall I play tomorrow night?". Not easy.
aaatoysandmore
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RE: So I want to play a war game again.....

Post by aaatoysandmore »

Don't forget Steel Panthers without all the expansions is still a FREE download. Give it a whirl if you haven't.
Gregorovitch55
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RE: So I want to play a war game again.....

Post by Gregorovitch55 »

Yeah I know, there's a dedicated community devoted to it - "sacred code" they call it. I've still got it somewhere but to be honest I find it hard to get past the mid-1990's interface now which i found difficult to cope with playing PBEM especially as it's just too easy to make mistakes and those guys are sooo competitive, one slip and you're toast. It's always me makes the slip.

I'm looking for something new really, and there are three games mentioned above that seem to have a big focus on command and control rather than microing individual units which is attracting me since it strikes me this levels the playing field a bit for single player games against AI. I have TOAW3 too and I as playing a detailed set of Barbarossa scenarios three or four years ago and they were very good, very detailed and accurate etc but the only way they could make them difficult was to put the human player under extreme (and IMO unrealistic) time pressure.
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Jason Petho
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RE: So I want to play a war game again.....

Post by Jason Petho »

ORIGINAL: Gregorovitch55


I'm looking for something new really, and there are three games mentioned above that seem to have a big focus on command and control rather than microing individual units which is attracting me since it strikes me this levels the playing field a bit for single player games against AI. I have TOAW3 too and I as playing a detailed set of Barbarossa scenarios three or four years ago and they were very good, very detailed and accurate etc but the only way they could make them difficult was to put the human player under extreme (and IMO unrealistic) time pressure.

Another shout for the Campaign Series:

Tutorial video Disregard the quality, still learning how to do that.

Regardless, JTCS has plenty of microing individual units and scenarios vary in size to a handful of units to hundreds and hundreds.

I'd be happy to show you the ropes via PBEM.

Jason Petho
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